Snowfall
by ta-akhet
Summary: Seto Kaiba decides to take the long way home one peaceful snowy night. He doesn't expect to run into anyone, much less a homeless girl in need of help. It is almost Christmas...will the Christmas Spirit find its way into Seto's heart? WARNING: OC x CANON
1. Chapter 1

a/n: If you don't like oc x canon, spare yourself some time, and don't read this. I'd rather have happy reviewers than angry ones. Even though nothing really happens in this. Just letting you know. Otherwise, please please read and review~!

/.../ = inner thoughts/talking to oneself

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snowfall

The snow was falling quietly and heavily that night. Seto was finishing the last of his work before heading home. He closed several windows after saving a few, and listened to the humming of his computer slow and finally stop with a click as it shut down. Seto pulled out his cellphone to check the time. 1:52 A.M. He didn't really feel like bothering someone at the house to come and get him; he would rather walk in the cold than sit in the back of a car being driven by someone half-asleep, and through heavy snow. He would like to stay alive for at least a little longer. Slipping on his heavy white winter coat and blue scarf, he flicked off the lights and headed down to the elevator.

The streets were silent. Not eerily so, but peaceful and calm. The snow was heavy enough to either cancel out or at least muffle almost every sound. All Seto could hear was his own steps through the drifting snow, and the occasional plopping of snow as the branches of trees bent under the wieght of the sticky snow. Seto liked this weather. Quiet and cold; but not so cold that it was uncomfortable, just enough to turn his face red and allow his breath to hang in the air like smoke. He had always been amused by this as a child, as he had often pretended to be a fire-breathing dragon and chased Mokuba around the playground at the park. He let a rare smile cross his face as he continued under the softly glowing street lights, which added to the serene atmosphere. Passing several shop windows filled with Christmas decorations and signs, he realized he had yet to pick out anything for Mokuba. He made a mental note to himself as he decided to take the long way home, to enjoy the rare serenity of the city at night in winter.

As he turned around a corner, he was surprised to see not only one person, but a small group of people down the sidewalk, clustered in a circle. The circle consisted of maybe 4 or 5 men, who were laughing and shouting about something outside the doors of a bar. Seto then noticed that another figure was in the centre of the circle, attempting to break out of it. As he got closer, he could hear that the middle person was shouting and possibly crying, and it was the voice of a girl. Seto had no idea what came over him; maybe it was a spark in his spirit left over from Set in his own lifetime that stirred Seto's heart, as he suddenly felt a strong need to save this girl. He probably didn't even know her, and yet he was compelled to do something to help her. The men were obviously drunk, and she could be in real danger. He could more than handle a couple of drunk guys toying around with a hapless girl.

"Hey. What do you think you're doing?" Seto growled as he came to a stop behind one of the men, who slowly turned around to face the newcomer. Rather, the man had to look up to see who it was, which apparently pissed him off, as he threw a drunken swing at Seto, who easily avoided the misguided punch, grabbing the man's wrist and slamming him into the snow beneath him. The other three men looked bewilderdly at their fallen friend, and then to their foe, and quickly decided to shuffle off into the night, leaving the girl in collapsed in a ball, sobbing.

"Are you alright?" Seto asked, still standing and on guard as the drunk staggered to his feet and much to Seto's relief, scurried away without another sound. The girl was still crying, but she uncurled herself, and brushed the snow off of her skirt and tights. Her face was red with the cold and her tears, which had frozen strands of her red hair, sticking them to her cheeks. Reaching his hand out, Seto bent down to help her up. She shakily accepted the gloved hand, and wobbled to her feet. She was small and thin, and judging by her clothing as well as her size, Seto would have guessed she was still in high school. The girl still hadn't made any other sounds other than a hiccup or two, and some sniffling as she tried to wipe her tears and control her breathing. "Hey. Are you okay?" Seto asked, in a softer voice this time. He was rewarded with a weak nod.

"Yeah, I...I'm okay" she squeaked. "Th-thank you -hic- for helping me." She choked back another sob, and scrubbed at her eyes with pink mittens, bowing politely before looking up to see the face of her saviour. Her eyes were large and round, and were still shiny from her tears. Her hair was messy and disheveled, her pink spotted coat halfway unzipped, exposing the brown wool sweater beneath. Noticing that Seto was assessing the damage she had taken, she blushed, zipping up her jacket rather quickly and forcefully. "I'm fine, really." She began re-pinning her hair back into a ponytail. "They didn't get as far as they probably would have liked." She said, smiling weakily.

"Why the hell are you out here all by yourself? It's 2:30 in the morning." Seto scoffed, now irritated with the girl. /stupid girl. she was practically asking for it. she's lucky I happened to be here to save her. there's no telling what they could have done to her./

"Dunno. Got off of work about an hour or so ago," She sighed. "The city was so peaceful, I decided I'd wander around for a bit." The girl shrugged as she kneeled down to pick up her hat and bag off of the sidewalk. "Stupid idea, yes. I couldn't help it though. The snow was too pretty, the city too serene." The girl bowed again. "Thank you, again, for helping me out. You're very kind." She smiled and turned around, beginning her trek to wherever she was going.

"Wait." Seto stopped. What was he doing? "At least let me walk you home. You might run into those guys again, or maybe someone worse." The girl glanced over her shoulder, surprised at the offer. She had heard about this boy many times, and she knew that this was rare and fairly out of character of him. She stopped, and waited for him to catch up to her.

"You can try to walk me home." She replied rather flatly. Seto looked to her, confused. "I don't really have anyplace to go. I have no home." She nestled her head deeper into her coat, her pace slowing to a mere shuffle.

Seto could feel a pang of guilt deep in his stomach. Why did he care so much? He would on normal circumstances have just left the girl to her own means, and continued on his own way. But he understood on some level what she was going through. She was alone, and had no where to go, and apparently no one to turn to. Perhaps he felt guilty because he saw much of himself in her. He could tell she was a fighter, and could take care of herself for the most part. But he also saw that deep sadness in her. That cold, dark, empty feeling he often felt himself. That hatred he had for himself, which was spurred each and every day simply from looking in the mirror.

"You have absolutely nowhere to go?" Seto asked. The girl shook her head slowly. "hn." Seto thought for a moment, deciding whether or not that was the best option. His head told him no, that she was just playing with him and was being manipulative. But his stomach was wrenching itself in disagreement. She needed a place to stay. It was cold, and they were headed in that direction anyway.

Seto sighed. "Why don't you stay at my house for a bit then?"

He could feel the doubt, uncertainty, and lack of trust building in the back of his mind, and he bit his lip, questioning himself. Seriously? He just asked a girl he didn't even know to stay at his house. For how long? What for, other than out of pity and her need? He wasn't one to do much charity work, or so he told himself. But he felt genuine concern for her well being. And he already asked. It was too late to turn back now.

He was surprised to hear her giggling. The building sense of mistrust began to grow wildly. /See? I knew she was just playing around. But of course, you gave in because she played innocent and shot those big puppy eyes at you/ his conscience screamed. /she's just manipulating you. what the hell has gotten into you, Seto?/ He shook his head in equal parts anger and shame, and he turned to yell at her, but stopped as she began to speak.

"Really? Seto Kaiba is offering a complete stranger room and board. Are you feeling alright?" The girl looked up to him, just as confused as he was. She wasn't playing. "I'm not saying I'll decline your offer. Rather, I'll definitely be taking you up on it." She smiled. "I'm just a little shocked is all. I hear so many nasty things about you, and here you are kindly offering me a place to sleep." Seto's emotions were quelled, now that he knew she was truly innocent and wasn't toying with him. But it was just instinct for him to not trust people. He never had, and thought he never would.

"Sorry to disappoint you then." he smirked. The girl giggled softly again. "I guess my reputation hasn't gotten any better then, huh?" She shook her head.

"Not really. And I'm pretty sure no one would believe me if I told them you were actually quite nice and civil." She grinned. "You're really going to let me stay with you for a bit then?"

"I suppose it's too late for me to tell you otherwise, isn't it?"

The two shuffled along the sidewalk in silence, still separated by a wide space between them that was both a wall of insecurity and confusion, but it gradually shrank down to about half an arm's length as they reached the front gates of Seto's home. The two had not uttered another word to each other the whole way there, but instead concentrated on their own rampant confused emotions and thoughts on the situation, and had broken down several of the other's walls in the process, unbeknownst to either.

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fluffy drabble is drabbly and fluffy. |D I tried REALLY HARD to keep Seto in character. I think I failed. pffft.

please review if you like, or if you don't like. I need to improve, you know. :D


	2. Chapter 2

a/n: oh my oh my oh my. I forgot disclaimers. Teri is MY OC. (she is not a Mary-Sue, thank you). Seto, Mokuba, etc (c) Kazuki Takahashi.

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snowfall part two

"Seto?" A groggy voice echoed out from the inside of the house as the heavy wooden door was gently closed and locked. "That is you, right?" Mokuba peeked around the corner of the front wall, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was nearly as tall has his brother now, and had grown up to be a very handsome boy, his hair now cut shorter, similar to Bakura's in length as well as messiness.

"Mokuba. Why are you still awake?" Seto asked, fluffing his little brother's hair as he walked past him into the kitchen. The girl still stood at the door, shoes off, confused and nervous. Seto waved for her to come in, and Mokuba's eyes grew wide as he realized what was going on.

"I wasn't awake, I was half-asleep watching anime when I heard someone at the door. You scared the crap out of me, nii-san." Mokuba pouted as he followed closely behind the girl, trying to fit the pieces of this puzzle together. A few minutes went by, with Seto taking the girl's coat and mittens etc and putting them in the closet. Mokuba was actually beginning to get irritated.

"You brought a girl home." He siad flaty, arms crossed. He shot Seto as venomous a glare as he could, but his brother just laughed. Mokuba was still too cute to pull it off. Mokuba glared at the girl, who stood sheepishly behind Seto and blushed.

Seto turned around to locate the girl. "Oh yeah. I did didn't I?" He smiled.

"Yeah. You did." Mokuba said, almost sneeringly. "Care to introduce me?" He tilted his head questioningly. Seot sighed, and pulled the girl to stand in front of him.

"Go ahead. I'm not going to talk for you." The girl trembled a bit, not from Mokuba's glaring eyes, but from the gentle pat on her shoulder from Seto, who walked away into the inner parts of the house.

"Uh...hi." She smiled sheepishly. "My name is Teri Tozokuoh..." she reached out a hand to Mokuba, who took it firmly in his grasp, making the girl inhale sharply with surprise. Mokuba smiled, but his eyes were drilling holes into her, analyzing every last detail, from the top of her messy ponytail down to the toes of her pink wool tights. She was small, weak, and a nervos wreck as far as Mokuba could see. She looked to be the same age as himself, if only slightly older.

"Huh. Alright then." he huffed, still confused by the whole situation. He knew his brother had had a couple of flings here and there; they of course ended badly, every last one of them. But this girl was different from the few he'd brought home before. This girl was cute, rather than pretty; shy and polite rather than bitchy and mean. And he brought her home being completely sober and happy. Which was also different.

Still trying to fit things together, Mokuba looked towards the darkness where Seto had vanished, and a moment later, his brother reappeared, a towel in hand. Mokuba heard the sound of running water in the background. Ah. A bath. How nice of him.

Seto then turned to Teri, who was staring at the floor in the awkward silence, upset that she had so angered the younger boy just by being in his presence. "Hey. I ran a bath for you. Go get cleaned up and warm." Seto nodded to the hallway, where a bright light was shining. "I left a towel in there for you. I'll find you something to wear, and I'll be in the kitchen when you're done, alright?"

Teri nodded and quietly ambled to the bathroom, gently shutting the door behind her. She let out a tired sigh as she pulled her snow-soaked clothing off, piece by piece, gently laying them on the floor. Shivering, she quickly slid into the hot water, which smelled faintly of some sort of flower. She smiled to herself sleepily and sunk herself as far as she could into the warmth.

Mokuba was obviously miffed by all this comotion for some girl Seto had picked up off the street. He was awfully crabby when tired, and Seto pointed this out to him when he saw the ugly frown on his little brother's face."Why don't you go to bed. Or you'll be even nastier than you are now in the morning." Seto said, sternly, but in a mothering tone.

Mokuba huffed angrily at his brother, who was starting towards the laundry room to find some clean pajamas for the girl to borrow. Mokuba muttered something under his breath, and Seto stopped, turning back to his younger brother.

"Why are you getting so worked up over this?" He frowned at the smaller boy, who was leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and a snide look on his face. Mokuba looked like he was going to say something, but quickly shut his mouth and simply growled to himself, pushing up off the wall and then headed towards the staircase. Seto reached out and grabbed the younger's arm, firmly, but not harshly. "Mokuba."

"Nevermind. I don't care about whatever happened. I'm just going to forget what I was going to say and go to bed, nii-sama." Mokuba spit the last bit out rather harshly, and turned to his older brother, an angry but pleading look in his eyes. Seto still had a good grip on his arm, and Mokuba tried to pull away. "Nii-sama...please. Just forget it and let me go."

"If you have something to say, say it. It's not doing anyone any good if you keep it to yourself." Seto sighed. Mokuba had a terrible habit of bottling up whatever bothered him, and Seto didn't like cleaning up the emotional storms that were unleashed when the bottle filled up past capacity. "What about this bothers you? She needed somewhere to go, and our house is far from full, am I wrong?"

Mokuba shook his head. "Really, Seto. It's nothing. I just don't want you to get hurt or to hear either of you fighting over whatever happens or doesn't happen." Mokuba lowered his eyes to the floor, wishing he hadn't worded his phrase that way. But to his surprise, Seto started snickering.

"Really now?" Seto covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing too loudly. "You saw her. She's far too shy and naive." Seto smirked. "Don't worry about it." Releasing Mokuba's arm, he reached up and ruffled his little brother's wild mane of jet black hair. "Teri is nothing to worry about. I promise. Now go to sleep."

"You say that now..." Mokuba muttered as he trudged up the stairs, softly, so his brother wouldn't hear him.

Teri was resting peacefully in the bath, when a few short knocks came at the door. Her violet eyes flew open, and she sank into the warm water up to her eyes, staring at the door. It opened just a crack as a hand quickly slipped in and gently lay a box on the floor, and then pulled the door shut, leaving as quickly as it had entered.

"Clothes." a muffled voice said through the door. "They're more than likely going to be too big on you, but that's all I've got. Sorry." it snickered, and Teri could hear the soft footsteps of the voice's owner make their way down the hall.

Teri peeked up from the water, allowing her to catch the breath she had held for the past few moments. "Thank you..." she breathed to the voice, which had disappeared into the kitchen, or so she assumed. She let out a sigh, deciding that she had soaked for long enough. The water was beginning to cool. Reaching for the soft white towel on the nearby sink counter, she carefully picked herself up out of the water, the cooling beads of liquid sliding down her shoulders and back, sending a wave of shivers down her spine. "Brr!" she exclaimed as she quickly wrapped the soft cloth around her small frame, stepping carefully onto the blue bath mat, making sure not to slip on the slick tiles surrounding it.

Carefully, she made her way across the bathroom to the box resting by the door frame. Teri picked it up and walked back to the sink, where she set the container down and emptied it of its contents. Inside was a white t-shirt and a pair of black shorts, and nothing else. She glanced down to her own pile of wet clothes, and blushed. Her things were still probably wet. She bent down and sifted through her belongings, looking for her pink striped bra and panties; lucky for her, they were both dry. Letting out a sigh of relief, Teri quickly began getting dressed.

She got lost in the holes while putting on the t-shirt, leading her head to poke out of one of the sleeves, causing her to laugh aloud when she caught her reflection in the mirror. Teri pulled the cotton t-shirt off and put it back on correctly. It came down to her knees, covering the black shorts she had put on previously. If she hadn't been the reserved girl that she was, she would have just yanked the shorts right off, seeing as it was pretty much pointless to be wearing them, but she shook the thought away with a nervous sigh. A hairbrush has also been left out for her, and she gently pulled it through her tangled tresses, eventually leaving her hair mostly straight, but curled at the ends and looking longer than usual. Glancing at the dripping ends of her hair, she considered blow-drying it, but she stopped herself. One, it was far too late to be causing such a racket, and two, she wasn't sure if Seto even owned one. "Probably not." she giggled, imagining the stoic boy fixing his hair with a perfectionistic flair.

A few minutes later, she gently twisted the door knob and opened the door into the dark hallway. Looking back, she reconsidered leaving her wet laundry in the otherwise spotless bathroom. She had folded each piece of clothing and set it on the corner of the sink, wondering what to do with it all. Shrugging, Teri sighed as she flicked off the lights and cautiously made her way through the dark halls, towards a light which she guessed was the kitchen. As she got closer, she could smell something was cooking; a sweet scent hung lightly in the air, and slowly made its way to her nose, luring her into the kitchen. - - -  
Seto stood at the stove, stirring something. He was staring intently at it, like it was something to be disgusted with. But he lifted the ladle out of the pot, sipping whatever it was that was cooking and hummed approvingly. Teri peeked around the corner, and softly cleared her throat. "Knock knock?" She smiled weakly, and stepped into the light that was the kitchen. Seto glanced over to the girl, who was practically swimming in the t-shirt he had lent her, the blue and black dragon curling into multiple folds around her body. It was so big on her, he couldn't even see the hem of the shorts she was wearing underneath, unless she wasn't wearing them...

"Ha. I guess a 'little bit big' was an understatement, hm?" He smirked. Teri nodded, blushing a little. "Are you hungry? I'm trying to make noodles..." he started, when all of a sudden the pot began to boil over, hissing as steam and bubbles ran over the sides of the pan. "Dammit..." he growled as he quickly turned the heat of the stove lower, and blowing on the rising foam. Teri giggled, but not so loud that he would hear her.

After he had regained control of his concoction, he tasted it again and decided it was good enough. He was starving, and he assumed the girl would be too, so it didn't really matter if it was perfect or not. He placed two ceramic bowls on the counter, and poured half of the pot into each. Sliding the first bowl over to the girl, he sighed. "Sorry if it tastes like shit. I don't cook very often." Seto said flatly as he passed her a pair of chopsticks. "They're just udon noodles with some vegetables from the freezer." The girl nodded as she blew the steam from the top of her bowl, lowering her chopsticks into it, fishing out a good sized clump of noodles. Seto watched her as she hungrily slurped up the noodles, wincing because of their heat, but smiled at Seto in approval when she had finally swallowed her first bites. Seto smirked, and began to eat his own late night snack.

- - -  
"You'll be sleeping in here, alright? Everything is all set up already, so you have nothing to worry about." Seto opened the heavy wooden door to the guest bedroom, and flicked on the lights. The room was large, painted a light blue, with an elegant, wooden four-poster bed sitting directly against the center of the left wall, laid out in blue and white sheets (of course). The bed was rather large in Teri's mind, and had a great deal of pillows spread across the top of the bed. Hanging gracefully from the posts of the bed were four sheer blue drapes, tied to each post at the bottom. Opposite the bed was a small dresser with a mirror, and in the back corner was a door to an en-suite bathroom. Against the farthest wall directly across from the door was a large bay window which overlooked the city. Teri's wide eyes took as much in as she could, and as she stood in the doorway gawking, Seto pulled the window curtains closed.

"It's lovely..." she breathed. "...thank you." Seto just smirked and walked back over to the girl.

"My room is right next door," he pointed to the wall where the bed rested "and Mokuba's is two doors down to the left on the opposite side, if you need anything." Seto yawned as he started out the door. "Good night, Tozokuoh-san." Teri nodded, Seto gently shutting the door part-way as he left. Teri immediately switched the lights off and clambered into the incredibly soft bed, snuggled under the heavy down comforter and fleece blankets, and drifted off to sleep.

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pffffffffffffft. faaaanservice...sorta. ok. not sorta. YOU GOT SOME. HAPPY? XD lol

Teri: -blushes- was that necessary?

Me: yes. XD

R&R please!


	3. Chapter 3

a/n: thank you, those of you who have read this far. XD

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snowfall part three

Teri slept better that night on the fluffy down bed resting in the Kaiba mansion than she had in years. She dreamt of wondrous things, not a bad omen or nightmarish ghoul in sight. Between rounds of REM sleep, she hummed or sang softly to herself, a habit she'd had since childhood. The heavy blue curtains blocked every trace of light so well, that by the time noon had rolled by, Teri had still not been touched by the warm rays of the sun.

A light knock came at the door, just before 1 o'clock. Curled up beneath the warm blankets, the sleepy girl didn't hear it. Seto cracked the door open a bit, and peeked inside the dark room. Seeing that she was still asleep, he debated on whether or not to wake her. Glancing to the clock on the far wall, he decided that she had slept long enough. He pushed the door open the rest of the way, letting the bright light from the hall fill the room. Very quietly, he strode over to the windows and carefully drew back the heavy drapes, and let the blinding noon-day sun flood the last pockets of shadows. A high-pitched whine came muffled through the piles of sheets and blankets, and they shifted to hide what was showing of the girl's face and hair.

"Time to get up. It's nearly one in the afternoon." Seto said as he tied back the curtains and proceeded to leave the room. "I left your clothes on the dresser. They're clean and dry now."

"Thank you..." Teri's voice cracked groggily as she released herself from her cocoon. Seto just nodded and closed the door behind him as he went. Teri sat up slowly, stretching out her back with a sigh. Her hair was wild and stuck out in every direction possible. Before exiting the room, she tamed her tresses with a hair-tie, setting it in place with a harsh snap of the elastic. Stifling a yawn, she shuffled her way out of the room and into the hallway. She again let her nose lead her to the kitchen, where both the brothers were currently going about their business. Mokuba was at the stove this time, making scrambled eggs, while Seto sat at the counter with a hot cup of tea reading the newspaper.

Upon hearing the shuffling that was drawing nearer at a very slow pace, Seto looked up from reading to see the sleepy girl stumbling into the kitchen, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Well good morning, sleepy head." He smirked. Although Teri had tied her hair back, it was still very messy.

"Nnnn. Yes. Good morning..." Teri yawned. She continued to shuffle through the kitchen, and rounded the counter to sit on a stool next to Seto. "Wait...what time is it?" She asked, glancing around the room for some sort of time-telling device.

"11:58 in the morning." Mokuba replied sharply. He and Seto had gotten into a bit of an argument not that much earlier, and he was still feeling a bit snippy. "Are you hungry?" He asked, flipping his frying pan of eggs onto a clean white plate. "I'll give you these if you want 'em. I wasn't intending to make scrambled eggs for myself." Mokuba turned to the counter, and slid the plate over to the red headed girl, who stared blankly at him. "Well? You want 'em or not?" Mokuba snapped, with a angry glow in his eyes.

Teri's eyes grew wide, and she nodded curtly. "Y-yes...thank you Mokuba..." She lowered her gaze to the warm plate in front of her, and she reached to the side of the plate instinctually thinking a fork or set of chopsticks would be there. Her small fingers grasped only air. Seto had quietly watched the scene unfurl, and he stood up with a sigh. He walked over to the opposite side of the kitchen, and a moment later brought back a fork, a salt shaker, and some pepper.

"Here." Seto gently set the items beside the trembling girl, and sat back down in his own seat. "Mokuba, next time you offer a guest some food, make sure they're actually able to eat it." Seto didn't even look to face his brother as he spoke. But he could feel the heat of Mokuba's anger from across the room. After a moment, Seto glanced at Mokuba from the corner of his eye. Mokuba was sitting in a chair at the dining room table, arms crossed. His grey eyes were steeled in a hard glare, directed at both of the figures seated at the counter, but mostly at the smaller of the two. Seto just rolled his eyes. And then the sparks flew.

"You know what Seto?" Mokuba stood up, slamming his hand onto the wooden table, and made his way over to the counter. Teri jumped at the sound, and fearfully looked across the room to see the angry teen stomping towards her. Before she could even move, Seto had gotten up from behind her and had almost silently moved to stand between her and his infuriated brother. Seto stood tall, arms crossed, and just stared down at the younger, who was still stomping his way over to the pair.

"Stop it. You're acting foolish, Mokuba." Mokuba came to a halt just in front of his older brother. Mokuba's steel eyes looked up harshly, as he was still a few inches shorter than Seto. The fire in his eyes still raged, and there was a shine of hatred floating just beyond the flames. Seto stared calmly at his younger brother, not moving. He said nothing more to the teen, and after a minute or two of back-and-forth staring contests, Mokuba gave in and stormed out of the kitchen and into the main hall, where he slipped on some boots and a jacket and then proceeded to slam the heavy door behind him as he left to cool off. Seto came back to his newspaper and now slightly cool tea, and let out a heavy sigh. Teri still sat upon her stool, quivering due to the intense emotions bouncing around the room. The ferocity of Mokuba's emotions alone were enough to make her unhungry and ill. She looked sadly at the plate of scrambled eggs that the melancholy teen had prepared. Prodding the eggs with her fork, she too let out a sigh.

"I'm really sorry I'm causing so much trouble..." she mumbled, guiltily putting a fork full of eggs into her mouth. They were difficult to swallow. Seto seemingly ignored her, as he sipped his tea and flipped to the next section of his paper. In the silence, Teri was feeling herself become more and more sick to her stomach with guilt and sadness. She gently pushed the cold eggs to the center of the counter, and began sliding off her perch, when Seto stopped her.

"Don't worry about it. He's just a little jealous of you for some reason." Seto said softly, still reading the paper. Teri looked to him, confused. Jealous? Why? Of what? Seto smirked, and took another sip of tea. "He doesn't like the fact that eventually we'll both grow up and start to drift away from each other. He's scared that I'm going to run off with some pretty girl and leave him all alone." Seto snickered. "Not going to happen. Well, not for now anyways." Seto neatly folded the newspaper and laid it on the corner of the counter. "Actually, I'm expecting it to happen the other way around." He smiled sadly. "And to be honest, I'd probably feel the same way if he had brought a girl home last night." He shrugged, and took one last sip of his tea before deciding it was too cold and nasty to drink anymore.

"Don't listen to anything he tells you. You can stay here as long as you need to." He ruffled Teri's already messy hair, and strode over to the sink, switching on the water to start doing the dishes. "Seriously, Tozokuoh. I don't mind one bit, and I'd feel bad if you were out on the street again." Seto walked back over to the counter to collect the empty and not-so empty plates and bowls. "Now go get yourself dressed. It's past noon."

Teri nodded weakly and began padding up the stairs to her temporary bedroom. Her mind was filled with negative thoughts and plots to sneak away without Seto knowing or chasing after her. She knew she was causing stress and anxiety for Mokuba, and she had only been here for a night. Knowing the situation was only bound to become worse, and the two brothers would only fight more if she stayed, she gently closed the door behind her and thought out her plan of 'escape'.

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DUN DUN DUNNNNN. whut.

please review, thank you thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

a/n: short chapter is very short. I apologize.

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snowfall part four

As Teri finished pulling on her heavy brown sweater, she heard the front door slam shut. Peeking out the window, she saw that Seto had gone outside to follow and drag Mokuba back home. "Perfect." She mused. "This way he can't persuade me to stay, and I don't have to make up some story to convince him." she quickly brushed her ginger locks through, and let them down to fan around her shoulders. She gently folded and placed the borrowed pajamas on the now made bed, alongside a note that simply read 'Sorry'.

Lacing up her boots as quickly as she could, Teri's heart was fluttering with nervousness, her stomach was still churning from guilt and embarrassment, and part of her was begging to stay with Seto, but she tried her hardest to ignore it. Before dashing across the driveway, she peeked out from behind the front door, just slightly ajar. No one was in sight, and it had begun snowing rather heavily again, so it would cover her tracks quite nicely.  
-

Teri was lost. She had wound her way left and right through countless alleyways and streetcorners, and was now somewhere near the docks and warehouses along the shoreline of the sea. She could her the crooning of the foghorns on ships coming in and out of port. The seagulls flew overhead, squawking and cawing at one another. To get at least somewhat of an idea of her location, she left the cold alleyway and marched herself across the street to the beach. Since this portion of the shoreline was a shipping lane, the ice hadn't been able to keep it's frozen grip on the shallow waters and the sand around it. The gentle blue-grey waters lapped back and forth steadily and smoothly.

Letting out an airy sigh, she began walking along the shore slowly, wondering if this was a good idea. Seto had given her a safe place to sleep, warm food to eat, and he wasn't expecting a thing in return for it. He almost seemed glad to share the house with another person. She shuffled along, more and more of her wanted to go back. It was cold out here, she had no money for food, and it wasn't safe for her to be left alone at night.

Her feet came to a halt as she felt a warm tear fall down her cheek. She quickly rubbed it away and scolded herslelf for being silly and selfish, when she noticed that someone else was standing on the shoreline as well, not more then 10 feet from her. They were just standing there, staring at the sea, or what you could see of it, as the snow had begun to fall harder, and the increasingly strong wind made it hard to see practically anything. Suddenly, the person turned to Teri, a blank stare upon their winter chilled face.

"I guess I'm not the only one who likes wandering around in subzero temperatures during a blizzard, huh?" They smiled. "Ryou owes me $5!"

Teri knew that voice. And only one person would bet on such ridiculous things, and actually try to win them. "Bakura? Really?" Teri grinned, and took another few steps toward the white-haired boy.

Bakura stayed where he was, trying to figure out whether or not he knew the girl. But as she got closer, he recognized the small, demure girl and her big purple eyes. "Hey! Haven't seen you for a while, kiddo~ What are you doing out here? It's fucking cold!" He giggled. -  
"Oi! Ryouuuuu!" Bakura sang as he kicked open the apartment door, a grin stretched from ear to ear. "I brought something home for youuuu~" He snickered, pulling Teri in the doorway.

"Kura...will you please be more careful with the door? Remember what happened the last time you broke it?" Ryou came walking from around the corner, covered in flour and sugar. His snowy white hair was tied back in a ponytail, which made him look girlier than usual, as did the mint green apron, also covered in flour. His soft blue eyes widened in shock when he saw Bakura's 'present'. "Tozokuoh-chan?"

"Ryou!" Teri embraced her old schoolmate, while Bakura shook off the snow from his own snow-coloured mane, and gently shut the front door, half-mockingly to appease Ryou for his misbehaviour.

"I haven't seen you since school!" Ryou smiled sweetly. "Where have you been?"

"Oh...um...around," Teri shrugged. She didn't really want to tell her friend that she had been living on the streets for a year and a half, especially not Ryou, who she knew would go into guilt-trip mode, even though he'd done nothing wrong.

"Around as in...on the streets?" Bakura frowned, poking at Teri's rather full bag. "Don't try to hide it from us, especially me. It's pretty obvious to someone who's been in the same situation before." Ryou's eyes then began to soften with sadness.

"Really? Teri...you could have come here if you needed a place to stay, you know."

"Yes. I know. But nevermind that now, Ryou." Teri smiled weakly. "It doesn't matter."

"It does too. And you're staying here now, got it?" Bakura ruffled Teri's hair as he made his way to the kitchen. "Now get in here and help Ryou not to make a mess with his Ra-damned cake things."

* * *

tee-hee. oh Bakura. I love you. -hugs-

Teri is slightly MS in this piece...-stabs hands- BAD KITSU. BAD!

anyway...review please!


	5. Chapter 5

a/n: CAKE. I want a cake made by Ryou...;A;

thank you for reading this far...o3o

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snowfall part five

"Cakes?" Teri curiously followed the thief into the kitchen, which they found to be in a state of utter disarray. Flour and sugar was on almost every surface imaginable, sprinkles and bits of frosting of all colours were spattered on the counter tops, but on the table off to the side, there was an assortment of cute little Christmas Cakes in all sizes, all decorated beautifully in blues, whites, greens, and reds, some with powdered sugar for snow, and little marshmallows for snowpeople.

Teri and Bakura stood in awe, in equal parts of the catastrophic mess and the elaborately decorated cakes. "Jesus freaking Christ, Ryou. What the hell is your problem?" Bakura smirked. "I ain't cleaning that up for you, just to let you know."

Ryou nodded. "I know, I know." He smiled. "But do you like the cakes?"

"...Yeah, whatever, hikari." Bakura shrugged as he left the room. "I'm gonna take a shower. I'm fucking freezing!"

"Well, you were ambling about aimlessly in the middle of a blizzard, 'Kura. I wouldn't expect you to feel very warm and toasty." Ryou teased. Bakura turned to retort back, but he simply decided to flip him off as he closed the bathroom door. Ryou giggled at his yami's quirkiness, and then rushed to the oven as the timer went off. He pulled out a pan full of tiny little brown cupcakes, and quickly set them on top of the stove to cool.

"What would you like me to do, Ryou?" Teri asked, rolling up her sleeves and tying a cream coloured apron around her waist. Ryou smiled and handed her a piping bag.

"You can make whatever colour icing you like~" He gestured to a set of mixing bowls with white cream cheese frosting surrounded by bottles of food colouring. "and I'll let you frost this cake how ever you want to." He set a small round two-tier chocolate cake in front of her, dragging a similar one to himself from across the counter.

"Sounds good!" Teri giggled, and pulled a bowl of frosting to herself and began dropping blue and green food colouring into it until she achieved the deep peacock-green colour that she wanted. After she lay the base frosting, she began to pipe little white dots all along the outside rim of the cake and all around the sides. Then she began to outline the shape of a reindeer, with the help of one of Ryou's cookie cutters.

After the two friends had finished frosting their cakes, they began to clean up the mess of a kitchen, with a little help from Bakura, who constantly reminded Ryou that he said he 'wouldn't help clean this shit up', but he did it anyway. Before long, the kitchen was spotless and sparkling clean. The dishes had all been done and put away, the floor mopped, the stove cleaned. Bakura had gone out to 'look for something', leaving the two former schoolmates to collapse on the sofa, totally exhausted from the cake decorating frenzy.

-  
Bakura was smack in the middle of snowy downtown Domino, completely surrounded by swarms of crazed last-minute shoppers that flew right and left, sometimes making a circle around the little bench area Bakura was currently sitting at. He was cursing at himself for going out at this time. He had forgotten that today was Christmas Eve, and that some people didn't do their shopping until 10 minutes before Christmas day.

"Jesus Christ! What the fuck was I thinking?" He whined, his eyes darting in all directions. He didn't like being surrounded by flocks of people. It made him really claustrophobic, which could lead to other bad things and actions. But he took a deep breath to center himself, got up, and continued on his way to a little shop on the corner. He had nearly forgotten to pick up Ryou's gift, and he decided he may as well get one for Teri as well, now that she was their new roommate. She needed a little...house...warming...gift?

"Is that what it's called?" Bakura mumbled to himself as he swung open the door, the little bell's tinkling alerting the shopkeeper of his presence. Bakura marched on up to the counter, told the keeper he needed to pick up a box, and then proceeded to wander about the small shop in search of a gift for Teri. Rounding the next corner, he spotted a display filled to the brim with something pink and catlike. He immediately gravitated towards it, because when he thought of Teri, pink and cats were what first came to mind. It was some sort of Hello Kitty knockoff, but it was pretty cute. Gently, he picked up a very soft, fluffy plushie, and was staring into its blank, plastic brown eyes, when he heard someone say his name.

"Hello? Earth to Bakura?" Seto stood behind the white-haired boy, his signature smirk on his face. "I knew you liked cats, but pink ones? Really now, don't you get picked on enough?" Bakura frowned as he turned to face the blue-eyed CEO.

"Fuck you, Seto. It's not for me." He sighed. "And no, it's not for Ryou either." Bakura said quickly, before Seto could make another comment on the plushie in his hands. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"Same as you, I'm assuming." He said, following the thief around the store, which annoyed the white-haired boy greatly.

"Well can you do it by yourself? You're a big kid now, Seto. I don't need to hold your hand in the store. I'm pretty sure you won't get lost." Bakura spat. Seto just snickered and picked up a small stuffed animal that looked like a seal, but he really wasn't sure what it was. "And I do believe you're too old to be sleeping with stuffed animals."

"Who's the cat for? I can't imagine you having a girlfriend." Seto snorted, ignoring Bakura's last jab. "And if you do, she's got to be at least twice as crazy as you."

"No, I don't have a girlfriend. And neither do you, so who the hell are you getting that seal-bear-rabbit or whatever the fuck that thing is for? I doubt Mokuba sleeps with stuffed animals anymore either." Bakura growled.

"How do you know I don't have a girlfriend?" Seto softly gazed at the plushie, feigning to be hurt by Bakura's comment, and surprisingly, the thief fell for it.

"Well...m-maybe you do... I dunno. She's gotta be fucking nuts to put up with you though." He huffed. "Anyways, you're faking it, you stupid bastard." He snapped as Seto began to laugh at the foolish thief. "Who's the damn stuffed animal for?"

Seto paused, as a new idea came to mind. "A friend. But I haven't seen her at all this afternoon. Maybe you have?"

Bakura had found a keychain with a puzzle on it, and began to play with it. "I doubt it. The only friend we have in common is your brother."

Seto turned to Bakura, a serious look in his eyes. "Do you by chance know where a little miss Teri Tozokuoh could have run off to?"

Bakura suddenly lost interest in his newfound toy, which he regretted immediately, as Seto caught his thought. "Shit."

"Ah. So you do know her. It figures. You two think and act alike." Seto snorted.

"You know how much you sound like your other half, don't you?" Bakura teased, knowing that the comment about Seto's former incarnation would piss him off. "Yes, I know the poor girl. Leave her alone. She's been wandering-"

"She stayed at my house last night, by the way, and she ran off this afternoon without telling anyone." Bakura stared at the taller boy with wide eyes.

"Wait...What?"

"I didn't do anything to her." Seto scoffed. "Seriously Bakura? You think I would have?"

"That's not what I was thinking, and there's no way in hell you could have even _tried_ anything with her. She'd hurt you." Bakura giggled. "You're not like that anyhow. I would know..." he grinned devilishly.

"Sh-shut up, Bakura." Seto looked away from the thief, and turned to walk away from him, when Bakura reached out to stop him.

"Oi. Get her the stupid toy, go grab your brother, and come over for a bit." Bakura didn't meet Seto's gaze, but instead released Seto and went to the front counter to pay for his things. "Actually, bring pajamas and crap, because you're staying over for Christmas."

* * *

oh yes I did. ANTAGOSHIPPING FTW. -brb fangirling-

please review? lav youuu if you dooo...


	6. Chapter 6

a/n: la tee daaa nothing to say this time, I guess. KEEP READING. It makes me happeh. c:

* * *

snowfall part 6

"Mokuba?" Seto called as he swung open the front door. "Are you home yet?"

Mokuba quickly peeked around the corner of the living room wall. "Yeah? I'm in the middle of a really hard boss battle at the moment- SHIT!" Mokuba cried. "NEVERMIND..." He spat, dropping the Playstation controler to the ground. "What's up?"

"Get some stuff ready to go over to Bakura's. He's locking us in, so bring pajamas and stuff." Seto sighed as he began to climb the wooden staircase. He glanced at the now-wrapped mystery animal he had bought for Teri. He wasn't planning on getting her anything in the first place, but seeing Bakura getting presents made him feel a little more generous than usual, and if he had left the store without it, Bakura would never let him hear the end of it.

"Why are we going to Bakura's again?" Mokuba pouted from the passenger seat. "I thought you two were-"

"We're going because he and Ryou invited us." Seto interjected. "And I suppose it'd be nice to have Christmas with more than just one other person, right?" Mokuba made a sour face at him, and Seto stuck his tongue out at him. "What's that face for? I thought you liked hanging around those two anyway?"

"I do. I just don't get what's been up with you lately. I mean, first you drag some complete stranger into our house and demand that she stay, if only for her own safety, and now you're going to celebrate Christmas with Bakura, even though you both claim to hate each other?" Mokuba was completely perplexed with his brother's seemingly sudden change of heart.

"We don't...hate each other, per say..." Seto mumbled. "And why not? I rather enjoy Ryou's cooking, and I'll be happy to not to have to make dinner tonight." He ruffled Mokuba's already wild hair, smiling. "Plus, you might get more presents this way, no?"

Mokuba pushed his brother's hand away playfully, but was still puzzled by Seto's unusually cheery attitude. "I don't care about that Seto. I'm not a little kid anymore...and speaking of which, did we get anything for Kura or Ryou?"

Seto nodded. "Yes, I did. They're in the back." He said as he pulled alongside the curb to park. "Can you reach back and get them for me?" Mokuba begrudgingly complied, pulling two small boxes from the back seat, when he saw a third present had rolled behind Seto's seat. Reaching down for it, his fingers just barely reached the slippery white plastic of the bag. He struggled to get at the thing for a few moments, when Seto pulled him out, laughing.

"Stuck?" He smirked, taking the boxes from his brother's hands.

Mokuba frowned at him, shaking his head. "No. There's another little bag of something under your seat. I can't reach it." Seto handed the boxes back to Mokuba, and he then reached underneath the driver's seat to pull out Teri's present. "Who's that one for?"

Seto didn't reply. He simply shrugged, and led Mokuba up the rusty metal stairs to Ryou and Bakura's apartment.

-  
"Merry Christmas!" Ryou greeted the two brothers cheerfully. "Well, Christmas Eve, but nevertheless." Ryou took their coats and scarves, while Bakura snatched the presents out of Seto's chilled hands.

"You can't open that until tomorrow, you know." Seto chided, snatching the box back from the thief. Bakura just pouted and stormed off to the kitchen to sulk. "Teri didn't run away from you too yet, did she?" Seto asked Ryou, who was closing the closet door next to him.

"No, not yet." Ryou smiled. "Bakura explained everything to me, and I haven't told her you're coming, just to be on the safe side." He followed his yami's path to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. "But!" Ryou quickly turned to face Seto, stopping him just inches from the smaller boy's nose. "Don't yell at her for running off. Or she'll do it again." Seto nodded with a sigh, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glance of the girl peeping out from the dark hallway.

"Where do you want the presents to be put?" Seto ignored the girl's cat-like stare, and put the presents alongside the others as Ryou directed, and then took a seat on a chair in the living room, which was set perpendicular to the hallway. He could see Teri still peeking out through his proriforal vision, and as everyone else made their way to the kitchen to cook, Seto and Teri had a sort of staring contest. Teri was staring at Seto from down the hallway, trembling nervously, while Seto simply sat in the living room, reading a magazine. Bakura was in on this little match of cat-and-mouse as well, and he got tired of it after a few moments of hearing Teri's door squeak back and forth as she struggled to maintain her balance.

"Teri. Seriously. How long do you think you're going to hide in there?" Bakura growled as he stalked down the hall. Teri squeaked like a mouse as Bakura wrenched the door open and picked her up off the ground.

"B-Bakuraaaaa! P-put me d-d-down!" She cried. "Please!" Bakura obliged, but only after he had gotten her out to the living room and dropped her on the couch. She sat there for a moment, and then quickly tried to escape, but Bakura just sat her back down, and whispered something in her ear. "Whyyy?" She whined.

"Because. This is stupid. You're acting like a child." Bakura sighed. "Stop it." Teri looked down to the floor, feeling ashamed of herself.

"Fine." She picked her head up, and looked right at Seto, who had been pretending to be oblivious to this whole scene. "I'm sorry I ran out on you this morning. But I felt so bad about making your brother so angry that I just couldn't-"

"I understand. Don't worry about it." Seto meant what he said, but he tried to make it sound like he didn't. Glancing up at the trembling girl, he saw that it had worked. "Mokuba is fine now. He was just a bit tired, I think. Forget what he said to you, and what he said to me. None of it was true."

"But..." Teri's voice wavered a bit.

"Really! I'm totally fine now!" Mokuba grinned from the kitchen counter. Hopping off, he took a few steps towards Teri, who shrunk back instinctually from the black haired teen. "Aww...I mean it though!" He pouted, looking to his older brother and Bakura for help.

Seto got up, and left, leaving the three others rather confused. He came back a moment later, holding a small white and silver bag. He looked at it for a moment, then tossed it over to Teri, who just about took the present to her face.

"What...what is this?" Teri asked Seto, then turning to Mokuba, who just shrugged. Curious, she began pulling at the little silver ties that held the bag closed.

"Hey! How come she gets to open her present now?" Bakura whined. "Not fair!" But Teri just continued to pull away at the tissue paper and plastic, until it revealed a small white stuffed seal with giant blue eyes gazing up at her sweetly. Around it's neck was a silver chain with a little piece of paper tied around it in blue thread. Bakura shot Seto an icy glare, partly out of jealousy for not being allowed to open a present, but he was also jealous of Teri even getting anything from Seto. Teri removed the thread, and rolled open the little scroll. All it said was 'Merry Christmas', but it was enough to make her eyes well up. She smiled brightly as she held back her tears, and squished the little seal to her heart.

"Thank you Seto..." she said, almost inaudibly. Seto just shrugged and tried to avoid Bakura's death stare, while Mokuba shook his head in confusion and headed back into the kitchen to help Ryou.

"I just don't get it Ryou...he's acting really strange lately. Even before Teri showed up." Mokuba knew he could confide anything in Ryou, but this was nothing new for the snowy-haired boy. He smiled at Mokuba reassuringly.

"I think he's just a bit confused is all. What with all the commotion Bakura made about their own little relationship, Seto might just be trying not to get snared up in something again." Ryou mused. "...but Teri definitely has something about her that apparently intrigues him for one reason or another."

He looked out into the living room to see Seto and Bakura teasing and play-fighting with one another, which was a welcome sight compared to the last few recent run-ins. "I personally think it's good for him. So let's try to refrain from stirring up any trouble, huh?" He winked at Mokuba before picking up two plates of various food items to place on the table. "Bakura, Seto, stop fighting and come eat something please. Teri, you too."

Mokuba laughed, promising himself he wouldn't cause any trouble for his brother. They both deserved to be at least somewhat happy, so why try to screw up each other's social lives? He dragged out the last plate with Bakura's help, and they all sat down around the tiny little round table to eat. Teri was made to sit in between Bakura and Seto, which made her feel really unsafe, with the little sparks that flew between them every now and again. But she felt at peace. Teri was surrounded by a good, albeit small, group of friends. Ryou smiled at her, knowing full well that she felt at ease, even in the midst of the chaos that was Seto, Mokuba, and Bakura. She felt safe and at home, for the first time in years, and so she decided to ignore the pointless bickering and jokes between them, and enjoy the warmth she felt inside.

* * *

END.

Originally, there was one more chapter, but I like the ending here. So I left it. c:

Thank you for reading. Really! If you could do me one more favor and review, that'd be AWESOME. c:

I may continue this in another story. Maybe. XD

Until next time~


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